During the summer months, the lure of the New Hampshire outdoors is nearly irresistible, and many Dartmouth students have chosen to take advantage of the agreeable weather while fulfilling a graduation requirement.
According to Hugh Mellert, the coordinator of the College's fitness and lifestyle improvement program, approximately 200 students have registered for summer physical education courses.
The most popular classes include outdoor activities such as sailing, fly fishing, golf and tennis. All sailing and golf classes are fully enrolled, and several tennis sections are also filled to capacity.
Sailing lessons are only offered during Summer term. According to Kenneth McClintock, the manager of the College's sailing facility on Lake Mascoma, lessons have been completely filled very summer for the past six years.
Although it is not uncommon for students who find themselves without a spot in one of the five sailing sections to petition him for help, McClintock said the only way for students to get into the course, now that registration is entirely online, is for another student to drop it.
"I just have to refer them back to BannerStudent. They just need to keep checking," McClintock said.
Few students reported any difficulty in registering for courses in water sports other than sailing. On Tuesday, the last day to sign up for physical education classes, the Registrar's website showed availability in several sections of whitewater kayaking, flatwater kayaking and whitewater canoeing.
Despite the open spots, however, not all students said they felt that specialty courses were a viable option. Some students who had registered for classes expressed surprise at the extra costs associated with the Dartmouth Outing Club and other specialty activities.
Weekly horseback riding lessons carry a price of $132 for the term, and twice-weekly lessons will add $254 to a student's College bill.
All DOC water courses cost $100, including a $35 charge to become a member of the Ledyard Canoe Club.
"All the fun classes seem to have an extra fee," Megan Hike '06 said.
In addition to the prices, students were also deterred by the time commitment associated with some courses.
Danielle Gray '06, who is registered for whitewater kayaking, is seriously considering dropping her class, because it lasts four hours.
"I don't want to sacrifice a whole afternoon," Gray said.
Gray said that the possibility of Winter term specialty courses and her desire to enjoy the Sophomore summer weather at her leisure were two of the other factors influencing her decision to drop kayaking.
Not all outdoor activities, however, are enjoying the same level of popularity as the sailing and golf classes.
Sally Batton, the director of riding at Morton Farm, said that only 25 students had signed up for riding lessons, but that 70 to 80 students took lessons during most Spring and Fall terms.
Batton said that the Dartmouth Riding Center expects much of its summer business to come from its Children's Horsemanship Clinics and other programs rather then from Dartmouth students.
Indoor courses, such as spinning and kickboxing, are offered in reduced numbers in the Summer term.
The FLIP office anticipated that the popularity of such activities would decline with the availability of outdoor courses. However, the total number of students enrolled in physical education classes this term is approximately the same as in other terms despite the fact that there are fewer students are on campus.
"We offer one spinning class whereas during the regular terms we offer seven to eight classes," Mellert said.
